The Apple Of Discord
by RaspberryDevil
Summary: InazumaAU: The business world was affected by lies, trickery but also normal negotiations. And every small competition can end in a disaster, when a web of intrigues is woven. The last question stays: "Who is the fairest?" / Based on the myth "The judgement of Paris."


Hey there :3

Have a new story, this time an attempt at an AU fic. It's based on one of my favourite myths "The judgement of Paris." A short summery for people who don't know the myth or are too lazy to look it up: Eris, the goddess of strife, is the only one who isn't invited to a wedding. She throws an apple with "to the fairest" in the crowd of the guests → conflict between the goddess Aphrodite, Athena and Hera. Zeus gives the judgement to Paris, a Human. Hera offers power, Athena wisdom and Aphrodite the most beautiful woman. Paris chooses the woman, Helena, who is unfortunately already married. After some conflicts, the trojan war happened. Look it up for a more accurate version~

Have fun?

* * *

"Such a waste of time", Hera mumbled, leaning against a wall while taking a sip of his drink. It was Christmas Eve and he was stuck on an evening dinner with his family. Not any dinner though. The most important leaders of Japan came together with their family but behind the celebration, new plans were made. Between the laughing, dissimulation filled the room, hiding behind the sweet talk. It was disgusting, though Hera knew that there was barely any other way to obtain power. Manipulating was a given for most of the companies nowadays and only a few people such as the headmaster of the elite university Raimon or the prime minster Zaizen Sousuke fought against these standards.

Hera's glance shifted through the attendant crowd and came to rest upon a blond boy who greeted everyone who approached him with a smile. Hera just sighed. Afuro Terumi was a year younger than him and part of a company who had its origin in Korea, trying to expand it's market in Japan; the fact that he worked as a model helped him to sell a certain image. They knew each other since middle school, meeting the boy as a transfer student. There was a lot of rivalry between these two and until today Terumi was actually the only person who could refer to himself as a genius without earning himself a snarl by the brunet. They avoided each other as long as it was possible and when he was spotted by Terumi, Hera averted his eyes to signalise him that he had no intention to speak to him. However it didn't help and within a few seconds, the younger one stood next to him. "Good evening, Hera. It's been a while." "Indeed." Not that he would complain about this fact, that was for sure. "Did you hear about it?", Terumi wanted to know, acting as if he hadn't realised the depreciative attitude. "About what?" His fake interest was easy to spot, yet again it didn't stop the blond from answering. "Mister Hibiki Seigou, who, as the chef of the leading company, organises these celebration every year, invited everyone but _him_." There was no need to explain who was meant.

Kageyama Reiji.

"Obviously." The Kageyama family lead one of the oldest companies in Japan, nevertheless the family was known for their dirty work behind the scenes after a mistake which was caused by Kageyama Tougo and the succession of his son Reiji. While taking another sip after his answer, Hera's glance shifted to the young boy who was circled by some adults, listening to their talk. The boy called Hikaru was the nephew of Kageyama and even though he was young, too young to understand the business, he always attended – had to attend – these events. The family firm wanted to show the business world that they weren't dirtying their hands anymore. Still, even though they whitewashed their reputation, nobody dared to invite Kageyama Reiji; a fatal failure, as it turned out only a few minutes later.

"Chitchatting again?" They turned around at the same time when they heard the all so familiar voice. "Well, talking is the only thing you can do, right?" An amused smile was on the lips of the young boy who approached them, making fun of them without trying too hard. Nonetheless the rivalry between them was similar to friendship. Somehow at least. "What do you want, Atena?" The young boy, Atena Tomo, was famous for his quick thinking, his skills to understand any winding theories. Seeing him as a possible threat for his own career, Hera rarely exchanged any words with him which was one of the reasons why they weren't really on good terms. Neither was Afuro, but one way or another they got along in the end. "Just greeting some old friends, that's all." A small chuckle escaped Afuro's lips, amused by Hera's annoyance as well as Atena's attempt to mock them. And here they stood, three geniuses who would inherit their family's company yet they already shouldered heavy duties due to their family name.

"Well, so many prodigies in one place."

The dark almost threatening voice dragged their attention, interrupting their small, childish talk. "But who is the best?" They didn't know him, had no idea what he wanted, but the blond and tall man in the expensive Italian suit looked suspicious. "Excuse me, but this is obvious", Terumi answered with a raised eyebrow after overcoming the irritation which the man caused; showing some self-confidence was always his way to cover up his missing knowledge. "Don't go ahead of yourself, Afuro", Hera warned him, crossing his arms in front of his chest after giving his empty glass to one of the waiter who went around the crowd. "Exactly." Not just Hera but also Atena wasn't really amused to hear him talking like this, even though they knew that he just acted like that because of the foreign man whose whole body language alarmed them. "I see. It's obvious that you can't say who of you can be called the best of the young generation which will succeed and take over the business world." Hera clenched his fists, biting his lips to prevent any insult which could get him into trouble – the attitude of that man pissed him off to no end. "I don't see why a man like you would care about it." Atena studied him with distaste, trying to understand his aim – he didn't want to admit it, but he still had no clue how to rate him and his goals. "Children are our future. It would be a waste not to assist them." Was that all what he wanted? Was it a reason for his appearance? Most of the adults didn't seem to care about supporting their children, propelling them with the only purpose to maintain the business. Did he just prod them to fight against each other because he wanted to see conflicts between their companies or to encourage them? "So? Well, then we might decide on this by ourselves." This was everything Afuro said before he turned around to his companions, signalising the man to leave. And since the blond faced the opposite direction, he missed the smirk on the man's lips before the adult left the young boys to themselves and their rivalry.

* * *

"Guys, I think we won't come to a solution if the argue like that", Atena sighed, tired from the senseless argument; weren't his grades enough to convince them of his wisdom? "Any other idea then, 'genius'?" "Indeed", Afuro answered, ignoring Hera's mocking which was directed towards Atena. "Then spill it." The impatience entertained him to no end, though instead of giving him an immediate answer, he waited a moment until he replied. "Don't worry, I will."

There was always another way to figure things out.

* * *

"Kidou, it's been a while."

And here he though that this evening couldn't get any worse; what a false assumption. Kidou Yuuto who was adopted by the current head of the Kidou Financial Group, was never a friend of such celebrations, but he always forced himself to meet the expectations of his stepfather. "How can I help you?" 'Please don't bother me', was what he wanted to say, but his manners forbade him to say something rude like this to such influential people. "We were just wondering who of us is more likely to carry the title of a genius. However since we came to no conclusion, we thought that we could ask you, after all you're a good observer, right?" Oh no. Kidou knew were this was leading and he didn't want to give them an answer. Every single one of them – even though they were just in their teens – had already some connections and he didn't want to incur the wrath of one of them. The consequences could cause a lot of disadvantages for him, his family – as small as it was – and his stepfather's company.

But fate decided to step in and give him a hand.

"Kidou, I was searching for you." "Gouenji?!" Known as one of the best doctors in Japan, Gouenji Katsuya was respected by most of the others who looked for his advice in any medical affair if it was necessary. His son Shuuya was as talented as his father and had a lot of friends who supported him, even during the time when his mother passed away or when his sister was in hospital. "Terumi, Hera, Atena." Shuuya greeted them with a nod, before he turned to the brunet and gripped him by his wrist. "Come", he pretty much ordered him, so that Kidou could only shoot a short apologetic glance at the trio. "Excuse me, but maybe you should ask Rika?", was all he said before they went away.

"I owe you one, you saved me", the brunet told him when they were out of earshot; Gouenji just smirked.

"Well, it's worth a try", Atena mumbled, not sure when the last time was that he had seen the young woman. Urabe Rika was a friend of Midou Reika whose parents run one of Osaka's biggest company while Rika's family owned a restaurant chain in Osaka. "Has anyone of you seen her?" He turned towards the two who shook their head. "However I'll ask Herume if you want", Terumi suggested, one strand of hair tucking behind his ear while looking around to spot his old friend whose family lead a delivery company. An odd friendship connected them, a sort of bond Hera never really understood, though in spite of his curiosity, his pride didn't allow him to ask. "Do it. Matsuaki has always an overview." "So cooperative today, aren't we?", Athena teased, causing Hera to just shrug it off.

Well, the evening was long and they had nothing better to do anyway.

* * *

"What can I do for you, guys?" The young woman easily found the trio after Herume relayed the message to her, having a sceptical Reika in tow. "When you had to choose which of us is the most talented, who would it be?" They weren't in the mood for long explanation, so Hera just asked her what she was here for; not what she would expect anything else from them. "Let me think...", she put her finger on her lips, trying to look as if she was pondering, when, in reality, she had no idea; which she told them. "No idea?" "Nope, not the slightest." In her opinion, all of them were pretty hot, so the only thing she could do was compare their accomplishments. However she wasn't a friend of all this competition, lying and manipulating, so she didn't know anything about the business. She just attended the parties because Reika asked for her companionship. Her family didn't care about the celebrations where people showed off their wealth and presented their face. They made the best Okonomiyaki, had a lot of other good restaurants and seeing the smiling faces of their costumers was enough for her to enjoy her work.

"And I don't think that any of the adults would know the answer. Doesn't any of you cover a different aspect of economy? How do you want to chose the best? It's like asking for the most beautiful or the fairest – it's subjective", Reika interfered. Having expected such an answer, Hera stepped in, suggesting a deal which was the start of their downfall. "How about choosing one of us who presents you the best? You lose nothing, only gain something nice and we learn how to carry on negotiations with others as well as get an answer to our question." "Alright." Even though it was the answer he aimed for, Hera was still surprised by the quick agreement. But after clearing his throat, he was the one who started.

"My family possesses a lot of power within the court. It will come in handy if someone attempts to ruin your restaurants." Of course, being the son of lawyers and studying this subject himself, Hera would came up with such an offer, but Atena wasn't going to take that, going in the same direction as the brunet. "Our business is architecture, so if there is any problem with your house or your restaurant, we'll help." It sounded good, especially Atena's offer; one of their restaurants could need some restoration. However she waited until Terumi told her his proposition.

"You know that I work as a model, right?" He had this angelic smile on his lips, showing the other boys that he would pull a card which they couldn't exceed. Without awaiting her answer – after all everyone new about that job of his – he continued his sentence. "Do you want me to ask one of my colleagues to date you? You're a good looking woman, I doubt that someone would refuse." It was tempting, and the boys certainly knew how to bait someone; an ability they needed as a firm chef, Reika thought dryly while her friend wondered which offer she should accept.

In the end, she turned towards Terumi with a smile. "Alright, I take up your offer." "A wise choice." It was all they needed to hear before the other two turned around – Hera looking unamused while Athena mumbled something along the lines of "women and their hormones" – and muttered an annoyed "Thank you and goodbye." Terumi, seemingly satisfied that the evening turned out like this, wrote down her number so that his friend could contact her before he bid farewell as well and decided to greet some of his other friends.

* * *

"Why did you choose Afuro's offer?", Reika asked curiously after the boys left. "I don't want to be dragged into the business world any deeper than I already am. His offer had nothing to do with their family's company." She shrugged it off, and even though Reika knew that she wasn't lying, she also thought that it was her way of forgetting someone else. Though it didn't matter since it wasn't such a big deal; at least this was what everyone thought.

Nobody knew that the model already had a girlfriend who was kept away from the crowd. Nobody knew that the dating which was nothing more than a nice meeting for the model and Reika sparked jealousy. And nobody knew that this jealousy would cause the girl to destroy the future of one company, leading to bankruptcy.

But at this moment, nobody cared.

~Fin~

* * *

This story has probably a lot of flaws but I wanted to finish this so badly so that I can focus on some other fics. I'm sorry. I hope that you still liked it. That's all, have a nice day.

Bye for now :3


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